I Want to Go to a Concert — Should I? Seeking Advice on Risks for Tinnitus / Hearing Damage

Hi guys,
Have had Tinnitus for about 3 years so I would say I'm a seasoned pro now. Usually it is not that bad for me, and I have been going out out to clubs with no problems but always wearing earplugs for the first two years, then about 6 months ago I got a really bad random spike that I can't attribute to anything which has only recently gone down. In that time I didn't go near anything loud at all out of fear. Last week I tried it for the first time in so long and went briefly to a club for my cousins birthday. The first 5 days my tinnitus was actually the quietest it's ever been and now my left hear has spiked hugely. The first doctor I went to see when I originally got tinnitus told me it was absolutely fine to go out and even listen to headphones even though I never did any of that. I also don't have any hearing loss.

Finally! My question is, I really really want to go see my favourite band who are touring in March. I absolutely love this band and I am so tempted to go see them as they really are close to my heart. I have no interest in seeing any other band apart from this one, but am also so worried about my ears. I'm really trying to not view tinnitus as a scary thing as I really believe this helps overall. I also really don't want it to ruin/get in the way of my life as it's already made me avoid social occasions and I'm only 20.

Should I go to this concert or should I not risk another big spike? But then again, should I just go and if it spikes just try and deal with it... everyone else doesn't have this issue/worry and I really am trying to not let it worry or bother me or stop me doing things I want to do... I want to be like tinnitus? no biggie lol? but I can't make up my mind! should i go or not? obviously would be wearing ear plugs

 

Yes, you do have hearing loss. How else would you develop tinnitus from noise exposure?

Recent research indicates that hearing test used at most audiology clinics and ENTs are inaccurate. Tonal audiogram test only check for hearing loss within the human voice range, learn more here about hidden hearing loss and how hearing in noisy environments and music perception is not tested on standard hearing test.

http://hyperacusisfocus.org/innerear/






https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378595516302507

 

No offence Contrast but I was told by ENT that I didn't. Whatever the truth is I would rather believe I don't have any hearing loss, being 20 and already having been affected by the limits T puts on you. I really don't think you should tell people they have hearing loss. Ignorance is bliss. I also believe if I wasn't told T never goes away that it would have gone away by now. A lot of T is psychological and telling people bad news about their ears can't help anyone

 

You have hearing loss, read the paper by Liberman and Kujawa about inner hair cell ribbon synapses dying from noise exposure, please don't be ignorant.

 

Science doesn't care about your feelings or mine.

Just Google "hidden hearing loss" and yes a concert can make your hearing loss worse.

Audiologist are known for being ignorant about this issue.

 

Positivity is easily the best thing for Tinnitus. All you've done is scare me with something you cannot prove. Case to case varies. You have no proof I personally have any hearing loss at all. Fear is the worst thing for tinnitus. When I fear a spike it gets much worse, when I relax, it lessens. I don't need any more fear but thanks for trying to give me some

 

@marge Pretty much everyone has hearing loss to a certain degree. Also ENTs don't know much, as they typically only test up to 8khz, but our ears should (ideally) hear up to 20khz. It's the upper frequencies that tend to go first.

People still go to concerts, standing up the back and wear decent protection. But I wouldn't risk it. No way.

 

Indeed: both you and your ENT have some reading to do...!

 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378595516302507

This paper is the proof, right here.

The studies where rodents were exposed to noise that degenerated audiotory nervous tissue and they still could hear pure tonal noises.


I have muffled hearing in my right ear after an acoustic trauma but "perfect hearing" according to the test.

Also this drug is being designed to cure "hidden hearing loss"
http://investors.otonomy.com/news-r...ents-data-highlighting-potential-oto-413-otic

Why would they want to cure a disease that doesn't exist?


Why would all top level tinnitus and otologist researchers and scientist subscribe to the idea of hidden hearing loss.

 

Eff me. Sorry everyone is so jealous that I was told I was told I don't have any hearing loss and I choose to believe that? This is my first time posting on this website and it is absolutely not the positive experience I hoped it would be. Disappointed in the replies in this thread. I was hoping people would be able to give me any kind of advice instead of telling me I have hearing loss. I don't want hearing loss, you're not a medical doctor who has tested my ears, ergo, I don't have provable hearing loss. This will be my last reply on this website, as it's not what I'm looking for. Thanks though.

 

Liberman "the guy he wrote the paper" is a PhD, and Professor of Otology at Harvard.

Liberman's research overwrites the outdated textbooks. I was told no hearing loss too, and so was @Manny when his hearing is noticeably harmed as well.

 

No one is jealous, you are "blissfully" ignorant.

Those test only go from 250 Hz - 8 kHzwhen the full range of human hearing is like 20 kHz+
and complex noise environments like a noisy bar, or music are not the same thing as pure tonal hearing in silence.

 

@marge Don't take it to heart. But you have a chance to take care of your ears and maybe in time your tinnitus might go away. It happens and you are young.

 

I'm not being rude to you, but your mindset could result in things getting worse due not accepting reality.

 

I wouldn't go if I were you honestly. Not unless you indulged in very, very good plugs and remembered to take breaks. And had muffs on the ride home. I'm sorry the people's responses are throwing you off and hurting your feelings, but they're just trying to inform you, and in their own ways, protect you from any potential spike happening and it becoming worse. This community isn't bad at all. They're just blunt with the information and don't sugarcoat, and yeah positivity is a good card to have in your hand and in your mind, but so is information that you can tuck away and file onto when you need it.

Don't be discouraged, or offended. These people care.

 

@marge Exactly! You might have hearing loss. But it does not mean your T will not get better which is what matters. And whatever hearing loss you have is probably not an issue in your daily life (except for the T it is causing).

One reasons ENTs don't know much about this is because there is nothing they can do! Why spend time learning about something you can't fix anyway? They want to work with patients who have something fixable, and they know alot about that those areas.

If you enter an ENTs office with a tumor, a cyst or an infected ear they will know exactly what to do and fix it.

In a couple of years when there hopefully is a drug that repairs Hidden Hearing loss there will be a lot more interest and understanding from the ENT community.

 

I read your post now. I was in your position... I had had very mild tinnitus for 4 years and it had basically disappeared. I thought I was OK. However, there was damage and the threshold for new damage had been lowered.

Life as I knew it is now over for me. I cannot go outside without 100% focus on noise risk. I cannot travel. I cannot go to a cafe or restaurant. I cannot go to the supermarket.

It is not worth taking the risk for a concert. The answer is "Yes! You can live life!". But that concert is just 0.0001% of your life. Don't risk the remaining 99.999% of your life for a short time of pleasure.

 

I would not go.
You have to make your own decision and live with it.
Simple answer to a simple question.
Once

 

I'm sorry you're feeling under siege, but the folk here all speak from knowledge and experience.

And it really is a fact that most audiologists and ENT's don't necessarily keep up with the very latest research out there on this condition.

If you're really keen to find out the true extent of your hearing capabilities, locate an audiologist that will do an extended frequency hearing test. My experience is that most will simply give you a bemused look, then shake their head and say no. It's just not industry practice...yet!

Or you can try a university audiology clinic, where they're much more amenable to performing these tests as well as speech in noise tests, for their student's benefit. They're also not there to push you into buying a hearing aid. I suspect you'll find you've got hearing loss at some point up the frequency scale and probably the source of your tinnitus.

I had mild tinnitus all my life, saw plenty of live music, even played in bands and had no problems, but always plugged my ears up with the highest rated foam plugs. But after being exposed to ototoxic medication, with considerable consequent hearing loss right down into the regular hearing frequencies, it amazes me how loud and intrusive tinnitus can get.

I think long and hard now about exposing myself to any racket, even with plugs. It's a personal decision based on your current level of damage, tinnitus volume and tolerance.

I'd love to know the name of the band you want to see. They sound unmissable! Good luck!

 

Your ENT probably didn't test up to 16khz and only 8khz as that is the norm. Test your hearing yourself. find a tone generator online and listen to the different tones and see if there is any particular tone that you have trouble hearing. Most likely it will be around the same tone and your tinnitus.

Hearing loss or not, I don't think shouldn't go to a concert. Please keep in mind that it can get much much worse and you are playing with fire if you go to a concert. Some people here cant leave their homes anymore and some are suicidal. You don't want to get anywhere near those levels. Nobody was trying to scare you. Tinnitus is scary shit and people just don't know it until it too late. It will eff your brain with a knife if you let it. And that's not trying to scare you. Thats exactly how some people really feel. And all anybody wants here is to help you avoid some serious suffering.

Please try to get your hearing tested above 8khz, up to 16khz, to truly test your hearing.

My ENT told me my tinnitus was fine, too. So I returned to clubs, concerts and boom, now I cant listen to music at all and its been 4 years and I miss music like you wouldn't believe.

PM me if you have any questions. I'll be happy to answer them.

 

No, don't go.

 

Such a conundrum. Something I have tried to put everything into perspective including the risks and potential consequences

While my clubbing days are over. I do go to the odd festival around three times a year now but try to reduce the risks by staying away from the speakers etc but thats not always easy. Also monitor the decibels frequently. Large spaces are better for sound to dissipate. Yes my tinnitus has got worse following one or two festival and have accepted it will get worse.

It doesn't affect my day to day life at the moment though I know it could. I may regret going to the festival but when I look back at life I will also regret not going.

Isn't the stats where 1 in 10 person have some form of tinnitus. There are millions of people who have tinnitus but still do the same things even without caution. Yes some will suffer for it in the long term but others will not. I guess the ones on this forum care about tinnitus and about others

I think it will boil down to tolerance that if it it does get a lot worse could you manage ?

 

Few hours of fun vs life time of suffering.

 

I hope this person comes back and reads these post, it's a serious situation.

It's not about shaming people who disagree with us, it's about preventing people from ruining their lives from a known biological consequence. The concept of positivity vs negativity can't be applied to known health risk.

 

If you go to that concert and find out the hard way that you are one of the people who shouldn't be going to concerts, it will be too late.

 

It can get extremely bad. I went to clubs and concerts for four years after initial onset of mild tinnitus and hyperacusis, and I was fine. I got some increased tinnitus before going to bed, but that was all.

Until one day, it wasn't.

 

Sorry to hear that hope you are okay. I know lots of people that still go out and have no affects. , For those that go out every week to clubs then they are playing with fire. I know many will disagree with me and shoot me down but with T being unpredictable and no large scale studies, medical advice or consensus on the long terms affects of loud music many people will continue to go to loud places without precautions as they fail to understand the risks involved. For a minority T will come back with vengeance but for others it will continue as normal. For those with Tinnitus even going out once a month is too much and must be difficult for those in their youth to stop going out. However, if someone wants to go out once or twice a year and take the necessary precautions I don't see anything wrong with that per se. Yes there is a still a risk Tinnitus can spike big time but the risk is a calculated one

 

Not sure how one can compare fun for a couple of hours with say a 1% chance of a lifetime of suffering due to debilitating T, and choose to take that "calculated" risk.

 

If the hearing loss is so hidden, that you don’t know it exists, why would the brain create such a strong signal to counteract it? Don’t be ignorant, hearing loss is just one of many causes of tinnitus.

I understand when you first get tinnitus, it becomes easy, even necessary, to find something to blame. Random small amounts of hearing is unlikely to be the main cause of your tinnitus.

 

I don't think it would be a fun time for you. If you went to the concert you would be a wreck just thinking how bad tinnitus could become. Living life is protecting oneself.